The long-term goal of this study is to (1) increase the effectiveness of patient-teaching, particularly for the adult patient with a chronic illness, and (2) to contribute to the body of nursing knowledge in the area of patient education. The Trait-Treatment Interaction (TTI) paradigm serves as the theoretical base. Patient profiles (traits) will be identified that interact with defined teaching strategies (treatments) in a manner to produce the most effective learning outcomes, i.e., health relevant knowledge and behavior (the dependent variables). For the content area of self-administration of prescribed medications, the study is designed to answer the questions: (1) Are there salient traits in a patient profile that indicate one teaching strategy is more effective than others in the teaching-learning interaction? (2) What is the relative effectiveness of each of the strategies? A total of 120 patients with either cardiovascular problems (N equals 60) or end-stage renal disease (N equals 60) in one of the four hospitals and who meet the specified criteria will be asked to volunteer as subject. This consortium approach allows the TTI paradigm to be replicated across two disease categories and in four different treatment settings. In each setting the three designated teaching strategies (independent variables) will be administered to 15 cardiac and 15 renal patients. The three teaching strategies are ordered along a continuum according to who (patient, nurse, or both) controls the content and process of the teaching module. Fourteen patient traits serve as assigned covariates. The design of the study is a 2x3x4 factorial design with 14 covariates. Linear equations will be used in the statistical analysis to answer the research questions. Results of the study have implications for patient-teaching, individualizing instruction, and contributing to the body of knowledge in human learning.